KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL From pork bellies to belly laughs, Chicagoan Jeff Mauro continues to expand on his brand of comfort food served with a smile. By Lisa Shames / Portrait by Anthony Tahlier Loosely defined as two slices of bread with something in between, sandwiches can be many things to many people. They’re one of the few dishes routinely welcomed at breakfast, lunch and dinner. And while their chameleon-like abilities are something to celebrate, it’s rare that a sandwich is described as dramatically life-changing. Unless, that is, you’re Jeff Mauro. After winning Season 7 of Food Network Star with his Italian-inspired sandwich—a perfectly made eggplant parmesan on brioche with mozzarella and ricotta, to be exact—Mauro went on to host five seasons of his own TV show, Sandwich King, an American tour of all things sandwiches. In 2014, he took on the role of co-host on The Kitchen, currently in its 16th season, where Mauro and a cast of Food Network all-stars share simple dinner recipes and family meal tips. Mauro is also the executive chef and partner of Pork & Mindy’s (porkandmindys.com), a chainlet of fast-casual restaurants specializing in slow-smoked meats sourced from Midwestern family farms that are made into—you guessed it—sandwiches. And then there’s his line of finger-lickin’good barbecue sauces and the just-released Pig Candy, candied bacon dusted in brown sugar and slow-smoked to perfection, that’s now available as a grab-and-go snack at Mariano’s stores (and yes, it’s as delicious as it sounds). But way before Mauro transformed himself into the Sandwich King, he was just a kid from a big Italian-American 92 slmag.net
family growing up in Elmwood Park, Ill. One day his mom got tired of listening to him complain about the school lunches she made and told him he was on his own. “I was always very particular about what I ate,” he says of his side of the story. Once Mauro figured out that sandwiches travel best when all the elements are packaged separately in their own little zip-top bags, he’d assemble his lunches ingredient by ingredient at the school table. While his fanatical approach to sandwich construction led to some teasing from his schoolmates—“It wasn’t good for my popularity with the ladies,” he deadpans—odds are Mauro was in on the joke, too. In fact, it’s not only his talent for making tasty sandwiches that has earned him a slew of fans and an Emmy nomination, but his ability to have a heck of good time while doing it. Performing, you see, is also a lifelong passion for Mauro, who, as a kid, dabbled in theater and took youth classes at The Second City. After graduating from Bradley University in Peoria, where he studied radio and television, he opened a deli with his cousin in Westmont, Ill., called Prime Time Deli & Catering. Not long after, he was cast in Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding. “I ran the deli during the day and at night I would suit up and perform,” says Mauro, who eventually played every male role in the improv-style Chicago show, including the lead of Tony. He learned a valuable
